Zimbabwe Says Tweet About Palace Coup Talk Was Fake
Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Information said on Monday that a Twitter account using the presidential spokesman’s name is fake.
(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Information said on Monday that a Twitter account using the presidential spokesman’s name is fake.
Bloomberg erroneously reported earlier that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman, George Charamba, dismissed rumors of a palace coup, citing a tweet from the account. Charamba does not have a Twitter account, Regis Chikowore, principal director at the information ministry, said by phone.
President Mnangagwa is expected to return to Zimbabwe after visiting Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in an effort to drum up investment for his economically crippled nation. Demonstrations erupted Jan. 14 when the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions called a three-day strike to protest a 150 percent hike in the price of diesel and gasoline. At least 12 people were killed during the protests.
Mnangagwa, who was accompanied by Charamba, canceled a scheduled trip to a World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, saying it was necessary to “restore calm” in Zimbabwe.
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